Special Master Lukoff recently considered the latest of several motions regarding expert discovery in Robocast, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., C.A. No. 11-235-RGA (D. Del. Dec. 4, 2013) (previous decisions discussed here and here). Apple moved to strike the supplemental expert report of Robocast’s damages expert, Mr. Hoffman. The expert’s original report was based in part on the opinions of another expert who had analyzed user surveys. Id. at 1. Subsequently, plaintiff withdrew this expert’s opinions, leaving Hoffman’s report “with a gap in the foundation of his own opinions.” Id. Robocast, however, did not seek the Court’s permission to issue a supplemental expert report that was untimely.
Special Master Lukoff noted that “[i]n an assessment of a relatively grey area, plaintiffs having Mr. Hoffman generate a supplemental report could be generously classified as an effort to comply with its FRCP 26(e) obligation to supplement discovery under appropriate circumstances.” Id. at 2. In this case, however, Special Master Lukoff determined that after plaintiff notified Apple that it was voluntarily withdrawing the opinions upon which Mr. Hoffman predicated a portion of his damages projection, there was no obligation to supplement the Hoffman report under Rule 26(e) “since it was crystal clear to Apple what had happened and what the loss of the [other expert’s] opinions would mean.” Id. at 3. Instead, Special Master Lukoff found that Robocast used the opportunity to add a new theory to Mr. Hoffman’s opinions that could have been contained in his original report. Id. As such, Apple’s motion was granted and Robocast’s supplemental Hoffman report was stricken.
Robocast, Inc. v. Apple, Inc., C.A. No. 11-235-RGA (D. Del. Dec. 4, 2013)
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